An Etrian Odyssey Chronicle
by Reed R Gale
Summary: This game was so open-ended, I had to give it a storyline in my head. When I looked at that story two years later I was like "Oh my gawd this is crap!" So I'm rewriting it. I hope you enjoy.
1. Entry 1

Entry 1

Hello. You are about to embark on an epic journey filled with all you could ever want: adventure, love, humor, happiness; but with those must come death and destruction, heartbreak, and sadness... That's is what I predict anyway, I'm going to chronicle this as I go along. However, before moving into current events, I'm going to have to piece together the past from the stories I've heard from the other members. All for the better, I'm horrible at writing about myself anyway, the longer I can put it off the better. And who am I? Well, that doesn't matter, let our story begin.

It was a fresh, green morning, the birds were chirping, the town was bustling, the troubadours were making music on the streets in hopes of attracting spare change; yes, an average day in the not so average town of Etria. You see, it isn't famous for a person who did something heroic or noble, nor is it for its beautiful landscape, or fair maidens. No, that isn't it. Like every town it has something special, something that sets it apart, but what I am about to say will baffle most. Many will think I'm pulling their leg. Etria is the home of one of the Labyrinths.

Many believed these to be myths, they were miffed by the how something that large could go undiscovered for so long. Hell, I was one of 'em. But when one has seen the splendor with their own eyes, only an idiot could deny its awesome air, that surely this is a place, no, this maze was of importance. Not to mention that its naturally formed! By the way, the reason it went undiscovered for so long seems to be our ancestors (or we can blame them for not telling us at least), as there is evidence that others had once trekked the labyrinth in the past, but no one really knows the truth.

Now let me call your attention to the phrase, "one of the Labyrinths." I say this because there are stories of other labyrinths around the world. Because I've seen one, who am I to deny the others' existence? Some say that there is one that reaches far up past the mountain peaks, clawing deeply into the heavens to reveal a palace in the clouds. Another is said to delve deep into the ocean blue, the dark unexplored depths hold mystery and untold riches. Though the latter part can be said for all the labyrinths.

Our Labyrinth, the Yggdrasil Labyrinth as the locals call it, is one that delves far below the ground. The biggest mystery however is what lies at the bottom. So far, no guild has been strong enough fight their way through the murky depths and for some reason the monsters get stronger as you get deeper, almost as if they're guarding something. That is what makes Etria so special, why it attracts so many adventurers. Not only is the Labyrinth a treasure trove of loot, it holds endless possibility. Possibility nature is willing to guard.

That brings us to adventurers. These are the strong warriors who come to challenge the trials of the Labyrinth. They all come for their own reasons, to get rich quick, scientific or historic research, fame and glory, pure adventure-the reasons vary as much as the number of adventurers. Few, if not none, can fight in the labyrinth alone, that would be suicide, I don't care how clever you are or how many lives you have, you can never make it. Adventurers make guilds to work as a team to reach their goals and avoid a gory fate.

Many guilds, like the rich guild Profit, are merely teams of merchants with few skills in exploring. Profit has benefited much from the Labyrinth, but they don't do much exploring. Hell, I doubt they've ever even left the first Stratum. They mainly gather up the materials in the labyrinth to sell as well as resort to underhanded methods to take from the lower guilds all to help line their pockets. It's unfortunate, but that is the way of the place.

With the way things are going right now, new guilds find it difficult to start up because they quickly go broke. Many guilds don't even accept new adventurers anymore, they all want people with experience. Its a dog eat dog world out there, and newbie guilds just don't last long. Ironically, the guild that we are going to be chronicling will be one of the few new guilds that can get it's foot in the door without dying within the first thirty seconds; that's only due to the leader, West.

West was a farmer born and raised in Etria and, though he was a pest to the guildmaster over the years, he got to know him well enough to get him to teach him the way of the blade, and enough of his trust to give him a guild space. I'm sure there's more to it, but he never talked much about it over the years.

And here I am speaking in first person. I guess I'll be switching in and out of it once in a while, but hey, what'cha gonna do? It makes it a better story anyway, more multifaceted, you know? Let me shift gears here, I'll go to the story of West, and how he began the guild:

It was another average morning on Etria, a bustling town filled with beggars, merchants, and adventurers of all kinds. It was all the same except for one thing. Today was West's birthday. The red haired boy strode through town with a new air, though was still wearing his dirty cloth clothes and worn leather boots, his green eyes shown with determination. He was walking straight to the Guild Headquarters.

Opening the door with swagger, he announced, "Hey, Guildmaster! Guess what today is!" It was meant more as a rhetorical question as the boy would never shut up about it.

"Oh, I dunno, you cut your arm off?" The guildmaster's words may sound harsh, but he said it in a playful manner. Well, as playful as the guildmaster will ever get. When he's sober. He considered West more of a son than anyone, probably because he didn't have any children and regrets it.

West's actual parents, farmers, were strictly against him following his dream of adventure and charging headfirst into the labyrinth without a care in the world. If he listened to them, this would be a very short story. Luckily, he didn't. He visited Etria at every chance. Even when he was young, he tried to challenge the labyrinth. A good thing that those guards always watch the entrance, otherwise West would have probably never lived to his sixteenth birthday. Once again, this would be a short story.

"It's that magical day when I, West, become the leader of a guild!" Though the boy didn't seem like it, he was a hard worker and strong-willed; he had used all of his self-control to save his allowance every week for a few years for the guild entrance fee, a whole thousand ental.

"Well then, West, I guess I can't stop you," The guildmaster said with a sigh, "But I can't take your money, consider it a birthday present, happy birthday." West smiled ear to ear. This was perfect! Now he could afford to buy equipment!

Still wearing his smile he asked the guildmaster, "So you'll leave the signup sheet up, right?"

"Aye, lad."

"Thanks! I'm gonna go find Reed!"

"Take care, boy!"

"Oh ya, and you know the name I picked! I'm sticking with it!"

"Just git and find that Reed and git outta my hair!" The guildmaster laughed.

Oh my, Reed. Where to begin. Well I guess since we were talking about West, I'll talk about him in that aspect. You remember how West tried to sneak into the Labyrinth every waking moment of the day? Clearly, I didn't stress it enough. In any case, on one such day, something like this happens. West gets his butt kicked out of the gateway. Again. And Reed is there, watching.

A gaze from Reed is like a gaze with the shadow of death itself, West claims that those red eyes' gaze has and probably will never change. They are a look that haunts the soul, whether you like it or not. One glance could paralyze a small animal with fear. They feel like they are searching your soul for any weakness. Thank god that West saw no weakness in himself. "Who are you!" he yelled at the staring boy. Bless that kid's soul.

The red eyed boy closed the book he was reading. That's an annoying habit of Reed's; he always has a book in his hand that he's reading and when you ask him a question he closes it with finality as if to ask, "What the hell did you want so bad to interrupt my reading!" His gaze afterwards says enough on it's own. "You want to challenge the labyrinth?" He said calmly in his raspy, quiet, ghost-like voice.

That's another habit of his. He never answers a question directly. Biggest asshole ever. "Yeah, so what of it!" West argued. They were the best of friends already. I can just see the seed of the flower of friendship falling onto the fertile rocks that that Reed and West.

"You'll never be able to make it." He said, as he opened the heavy book again, licking thumb to turn the pages back to the page he had left. The thing was a multi-volume advanced alchemic journal. Reed may be an asshole, but he was a smart asshole. From the age they were at now, only eleven years, Reed was already reading the latest theories in alchemic science. He broke all eye contact with West when he found the lost page. That boy's face probably turned as red as his rust colored hair. To West, the words Reed had uttered were the biggest insult of all.

"What, did, you, say..." He whispered but Reed heard-or predicted-what he said.

"Don't make me repeat myself." He answered almost silently, while smugly turning a page.

West always carried his training sword with him. It was his gift from the guildmaster for wanting to learn. He had sparred with the old man, but he could tell he was holding back. How much he was holding back, even to this day, is unknown, but by West's logic, if he could hold his own against the master, then this well-dressed prissy kid who couldn't even comb his own jet black hair would be no problem. Wrong conclusion.

West never saw it coming. Reed had seen it coming in theory, and that was good enough for him. One second West was charging, another he was on the ground, his battered wooden sword five feet away from him, sticking up from the ground. Reed later explained it was a simple burst of pressurized air. He hadn't even batted an eye. But West got up and grabbed his sword again, which made even Reed look up from his book. He charged again, and Reed knocked him over again... they continued this pattern for the rest of the day. Bye sunset, Reed had had enough. He hadn't even made any progress in the journal.

"I admit it, you're persistent." He stated, then as West got up again continued, "I'm Reed." He closed his book, then looked at West with a different gaze, one with a bit more acceptance of the moron in front of him.

"Hmph!" replied young West. He now standing and turned away, annoyed that he has lost to that kid. It wouldn't be for another few weeks of repeating this process until by some miracle the two became friends. One day, Reed asked West the question that one who knows the boy at all must ask.

"Why do you want to go to the labyrinth so bad?" He said this without looking up from his book at all, but West didn't care for eye contact much anyway.

"Adventure, pure and simple! Life is too boring here. You seem stuck on the idea of reachin' the bottom too, why?" Reed said nothing. Typical of him. West punched him in the shoulder to get a response, but was only blown back by a strong burst of air while Reed turned the page of his book. That boy was always one or twelve steps ahead and is always such as ass about it!

Back to the day of the founding of our guild, West had searched the town, only to find Reed at the usual place, right outside the labyrinth, reading a book, The Chronicles of The Labyrinth. As West approached he noticed him finish, closing his book with the same finality as usual. Reed simply stated, "Such a simple book, yet so very powerful..." He looked at West with few malignant feelings, "'py birthday," He mumbled, "I suppose you're going to make me join that guild of yours."

West just smiled, the universal term for, "Ya, that 'bout sums it up." The two headed to the guildmaster's abode, and by now it was evening. 8:00. It wasn't really a set meeting time, but it was kind of a-what's the word-tradition. Any new guild set out a sign up sheet for one day and anyone who wanted to join signed and met at 8:00 that night. If no one signed within the day, you lost your slot and had to pay another thousand for a new one. That's just how it worked. Reed and West were ready to go alone though, and they were sure they could recruit people as they went. Well, West did anyway, Reed doesn't say much.

As they had gotten older and sparred with each other, both got better. Simple bursts now weren't enough to knock West down, and somehow, nobody is sure how but Reed theorizes (or maybe it was just an insult) that "all the magic that has hit him has effected the boy's anatomy on a magical scale." Basically the warrior could predict when magic will strike and where. This made the spars between the two boys productive, Reed always needed to learned new tricks, and West always tried to get stronger physically, they became a hard to beat duo.

Arriving at the guild headquarters, the two were met with a lucky site. Unlike what they had expected, they had actual recruits! To someone not used to the culture of Etria, I cannot exaggerate enough how unusual this is, most newbies don't have the balls to sign onto a guild that just came out of nowhere, run by a boy who just turned sixteen. As it turned out, they didn't need "the balls", they were all girls!

The one that would first catch my eye would be the girl with the pink curled pigtails sprouting from her hair. Pink just isn't a natural color to me, but she assures me, it's natural. (You don't argue with her.) The ribbons holding those tails up were the only feminine clothing on the girl. From there, she was wearing a beaten looking leather breastplate that fit her snugly and very short short-shorts (That sounds weird, but she informs me that that is what they're called). She was leaning in the chair as if it were a rocking chair, rocking it back and forth making an annoying creaking noise, and had her leather boots, much like West's-except they went up to her knees-propped on the table, her eyes were closed in boredom, as if she were asleep. If it weren't for the chain whip she were holding lazily in her right hand, one would easily take her for a cheap landshcnekt.

That whip and those clothes proved what she really was: a dark hunter in-training. The dark hunters have a belief, that to become one, you must have significant power. The tests they assign to gauge the apprentices differ by master and once it is completed, they get their trademark tight black leather suit, as well as a miniskirt and long leather boots-at least in the case of the girls. Doesn't seem very protective, but who am I to complain? After all, it's sexy. Guys get leather jackets and pants, nothing special, but they wear it with pride. The weird thing is those leather clothes seem to get stronger with the hunter wearing them, maybe it's some sort of magic. I would ask Reed about it, but that would probably be a bad idea all things considered.

Most dark hunters nowadays don't go to the labyrinth. They used to but as time went on they found more profitable work in the bounty hunter business. That was the driving force behind most of what they did, they were in it for the profit. This didn't seem the case for this girl though, so what was an in-training doing joining a guild?

The next one that comes to attention would be the blond girl with the steely blue eyes, her gaze was like Reed's only it left you with the opposite feeling; you would feel calm around her, she almost exuded a tranquil aura. She let her hair flow without any hair ties, though it was easy to see that she took good care of it, as long as it was. The shield she bore had a golden cross on it, perhaps to show her religion, or perhaps it was merely a decoration, nonetheless, it looked heavy. Her armour, as one could tell from the lack of scratches, was shiny and new, not a blemish on it. She had a small sword attached to the best around her waist. Honestly, it was hard to believe this girl, who couldn't be much older than West or Reed, was a protector!

Protectors held an important job in the labyrinth, and it is as simple as their name suggests. The huge shields they heft around are not for show. They use them to defend and even attack at times! That isn't to say that they can't use their swords, but hey, their name says they protect, honestly that's just a bonus. The fact that she was gorgeous was another bonus.

Finally, after a good wait West noticed the last girl, she was under the table making a ruckus. No, she wasn't crazy or scared-not yet anyway-she was looking through her huge pack to make sure that she had all the supplies that she needed. After all she was going to be taking on, hands down, the most important role in any guild. She was going to be the medic, someone that every person relies on. No one else would have the knowledge of both medical magic and medicine to do anything. That put a lot of weight on the shoulders of this plain looking girl.

On, she had one of the most basic and low ranking medic's uniforms, with the long white coat and the signifying scarf around her neck. The red of the cloth signified the lowest of ranks, followed by blue, green, silver, then finally gold. At the top there was the head medic who led the hospital and sold the medicine, however as of late many guilds have been importing stronger items from faraway lands and the actual hospital has only been getting by by renting out their medics for a fee. It's a shame, really. It was rare that a medic actually left the institution to join a guild, but hey, here one was.

This gave their guild have a population of five. Kinda sad really, but hey everyone starts somewhere, right? Five is the maximum you're allowed to bring into the labyrinth at a time anyway. Something about upsetting the "natural balance." Whatever the reason, the Radha, the government of the area, is very serious about enforcing this particular rule. Besides, with more than five, it's hard to work as a team so it's better off that way.

Well, you can only imagine West was ecstatic. Not only did he have a guild, but five members! Now, let me say something weird, West wasn't interesting in pretty girls. As you can probably tell, Reed only loves his books and knowledge. Now I think that's a crying shame, but that's just me. He began with a stutter. Eloquent. Then he gathered himself, stood up straight, and cleared his throat. The only one he got the attention of though was the blond protector. Even Reed was merely reading his book.

"Welcome everyone to the first meeting of the Gales!" He said in his most loud, charismatic voice. The boy had a good speaking voice and now, everyone was paying attention except for the dark hunter. It seemed she had actually fallen asleep. I pity West for was he attempted to do soon afterwards, he tapped her shoulder to get her to wake up. If you know a dark hunter, never, ever, wake them up from a nap. Not even an in-training.

In a few seconds, the chair was unoccupied, the hunter had gracefully twirled behind the poor landshcnekt, the chain that had been lying on the floor just previously was now wrapped around the boy in a tight grip, the final touch was a knife being held to his neck. Knowing her, the chances of that dagger holding at least one lethal poison was likely.

It was at this moment that she woke up. She sniffed up some mucus that was starting to drip from her nose and yawned out, "Yo..." Then saw the situation that the two were in, formed a sleepy grin and with a skillful yank of the chain, it unwound and harmlessly coiled back into her hand. She then released the blade from West's neck and stumbled groggily back to the chair, to stare at West with sleepy night colored eyes. Best first impression ever.

Everyone reacted differently. West had tensed up, he had never expected anyone to be that skillful. He had seen and heard of dark hunters before, but had never confronted one in person. The reality amazed him and made him proud to have attracted such a girl to the guild. The blonde unsheathed had her sword and was ready to strike at the hunter. The medic had already pulled out a bundle of medicas and her hands were wrapped in bandages that still led back to the bag from whence they came. Reed turned a page.

"A-are you okay?" The brown haired medic stammered in a high pitched voice. Getting a good look at her, she looked even younger than West, maybe thirteen, fifteen tops! She was scrambling to untangle herself from the bandages which in her haste had meandered around her legs, arms, waist, and even her head somehow. The most important job had been given to a klutz.

"No, I'm fine thanks," West said. The protector had sat back down, sword sheathed, but she was eyeing the dark hunter without breaking her gaze. The girl that was being stared at asked West the question he had been trying to answer without it being asked.

"So, what're we here for, what's our guild's goal?"

Honestly, West had his own reason, and so did Reed. He was willing to bet so did everyone else. Usually a guild advertised their want, some guilds wanted strong people, some wanted the most skillful, others, the most magically adept, others still sought the best at harvesting materials. West hadn't set anything on his sheet but the title, his guild title. He had had all this time, and had never really, truly thought it through. What would he say? As it turned out, he needn't say anything. Reed had thought for him.

"We're here to get to the bottom." A good general umbrella goal. This was the goal of a lot of the small guilds. Did I mention their fates?

West expected things to get hectic here, where everyone would run off with their own idea, and quit. The evening was going well (as well as if was gonna go at least), he didn't want to lose his whole group right here! But he didn't. The dark hunter seemed satisfied with that goal, and the protected hadn't reacted. The only one who seemed nervous was the now unbound medic. Still that didn't lift the air of tension in the room. Now it was West's turn to take over.

"So, I'm your leader, West, and this is Reed our resident alchemist." He got next to Reed and smiled. Reed didn't even look up form his book. West stayed like this until the silence got to him, but that wouldn't break his politeness just yet. He continued, "So what's all your names?"

The first one to reply was the protector, she stood up looked around, keeping on a stoic face and said, "My name is-" There was an almost unnaturally short pause here, like she didn't know what to say. It was only momentary though, she soon continued, "-Fend, I'm Fend, a pleasure to work with you all." Then she sat down.

The dark hunter went next and still rocking in her chair casually stated, "I'm Raze, as in destruction you know. My parents named me well don't'cha think?" She grinned again and pointed at the medic, "And what's your name short stuff?"

The medic just fidgeted on the spot. Clearly she hated being called out and Raze putting her on the spotlight like that had only made it worse. She looked like she was going to melt right there on the spot, but somehow she managed to whisper, "Ru-by," Then she repeated herself, "Ruby," followed by collapsed onto her chair. The introduction had taken a lot out of her, was she really fit for the Labyrinth?

West smiled and continued, "Well then, Reed, Fend, Raze, Ruby; you're now all a part of Gale!" West said jovially "That's my family name, and now it's yours too, Reed Gale, Fend Gale, Raze Gale, and Ruby Gale, welcome to the family." Everyone just stared at him, well everyone but Reed anyway. He was used to West's general awkwardness and merely continued to read his book. Raze then broke out in laughter mocking West.

"Come on!" She laughed, "What a joke, we're a family?" Her laugh didn't seem completely genuine though. In fact, it seemed kind of melancholy. West had picked up on this and answer honestly.

"Yes." Brevity.

She shut up. That was it, the first awkward day of the founding of the Gales. Afterwards, they all went to the Rooster Inn and booked a room. From what I've heard, the next day was going to be a long one.

I'll have to have someone look over this later. Actually now that I think about it, I'll keep it to myself, as a surprise to the other members at the end of our journey. I think they'll enjoy reading these later, but for now, I'm going to stop, I'm tired, and I'm not sure I've heard enough from the others of the first day to make it into a story format. So for now, I'll end this. Entry 1 out.


	2. Entry 2

Entry 2

Welcome. I'm back to tell you another tale. I realized that the story of that day didn't end at booking the room, and it took me a while to get something manageable from the other members. I can't believe I never thought of what would happen there at the beginning, clearly my logic didn't carry me far! I feel stupid now, even after staying at the Rooster Inn for a whole year, I still didn't put something that should have been as simple as putting two and two together.

Let me start like this. The first room a guild gets is crap.

Okay, that's a bit vague, I've gotta explain a bit more; you see, when you buy your guild spot, you get a slot from the guildmaster, get a guild together, and life is good right? Wrong. Remember, everyone has to sleep. And eat. And fulfill other bodily functions. So, the Guildmaster HQ has a thing going with the inns in town you see? The guildmaster will hand out openings only when an inn is available, though they're are always expanding so usually there is at least one opening. Then the inns themselves have their own sub-systems. Let me go more in depth on the Rooster Inn's quirky processes.

The newer you are, the less prestige you have, the less they expect a night from you. In return, you basically are renting a gigantic room with enough beds for twenty people. Normally. However the cheaper you are, the smaller and crappier the room you get initially. Can't get five star rooms on one star rent, now can you? Now the Rooster Inn is a bit odd in how they let people change rooms.

They actually have the guilds fight.

Yes. Fight.

The one that comes out on top gets the loser guild's room. Now usually guilds are courteous enough to let the loser guild have the room they just left, but technically, they still own it. It's almost like a territory war. However, if the room is vacant for five days, the Rooster Inn claims it again, every guild bumps up one room, and the loser guild instead gets the first room. It's an odd system, but somehow no one dies and it works.

In any case, Guild Gale is one of the lowest-scratch that, the lowest ranking guild in Etria. They have so far achieved nothing, no one in their group is anyone to speak of (unless you count West who has been the town braggart for an amount of time almost equivocal to the amount time he could speak), and they only owned 1000 ental to their name. The poorest, lowest ranking guild around. But hey, everyone starts somewhere.

Regardless, in the Rooster Inn, this meant you got the lowest ranking area. The newly renovated room (which allowed for the addition of the Gales in the first place) was being occupied by the highest ranking guild, and all the other guilds moved rooms with them. The cruddiest room was left behind for Gale. Imagine their shock. A ten bed room with mattresses stuffed with who knows what. The feel of them was something like decomposing hay. Smelled like it too. Plus it was uneven.

Then there was the one toilet in a little closet-like room in the corner that was separated by only a light grass-woven door. The bowl itself looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a month and smelled precisely as one would predict. Nasty. This was the first room; beds and a toilet, no more.

And yet, worth ever cent. All they paid was a whopping 5 ental. Can't get much cheaper than that. Still, I'd say my first complaint would be the first words everyone remembers West saying when he first opened the door to the musty room.

"It reeks!" exclaimed West. That wasn't the half of it, not to mention they were going to be living here for the next good portion of their lives. Albeit, conditions would get better eventually when they moved rooms.

Anyway, Reed and Raze weren't phased, and walked in normally, Reed with his nose in a huge book, Raze walking in without an attitude change. Reed sat down on the closest bed to the door and didn't take his eyes off his book while Raze simply walked to the bed opposite his and fell asleep. She wasn't picky.

The rest had a more difficult time getting used to their surroundings. West was, as his outburst suggested, disgusted. He had always lived in a clean farm home (to me that's an odd mental picture, but hey, I've never been the to rural areas). The boy's room was usually in order and clean. Books were in place, the bed was made, everything was in order. The boy was a clean kid. This was a shock to him, to walk into a room in such a state disarray.

Fend looked like she was going to be sick. The girl was holding her nose and her pale colored face had changed to a shade of green. Luckily she didn't puke onto the floor, that would have only added to the mess that they already had on their hands. The girl, unwillingly chose a bed and sat on it, however she had forgotten about the weight of her armor. The minute that she sat on that thing, the bed, not the mattress, collapsed. But following that, the mattress ripped revealing the hay inside which spilled onto the wet dirt floor.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. It was raining. After the meeting, it had begun to drip and as they walked to the Inn the water had started to get worse and worse until the moment the got to the place. Not only that, they had a leak. Well, that explained the moldy beds. Mystery solved.

After the bed breaking incident, Fend sat straight up, her face flushed with embarrassment. West laughed, Raze slept, Reed looked up, and Ruby was already getting out balms in case of any injury. Honestly, if this were my first impression of the group, I'd wonder if they were going to be okay in the Labyrinth. Fend said the first willing thing of the day, but said it really fast, clearly energy was flowing through her, the same kind that you have in those dreams where to go out in public naked.

"I'm sorry!" She looked like she was gonna cry, the image that she had been building had shattered. Did acceptance really matter that much to her? Or was she afraid she was going to be called fat? Dunno. Everyone knew that her armor was heavy and the wooden bed was rotten so they knew it wasn't her fault. But maybe having one person laugh at her really hit her hard. In any case, she chose another bed after assuring Ruby she was fine, and this time took her armor off first, with the help of Ruby.

Underneath, she had been wearing a blue knit sweater of some kind that was rather tight looking, as well as rather tight looking pants. All in all, it looked rather hot and wet with the combination of the rain and sweat. Though no one had noticed before, she had a bag with a change of clothes. That made one of 'em. But it's not like she could do anything with them. She couldn't walk into the lobby, no privacy there, the bathroom held a toilet with room for little more, and there was no way she was changing in front of anybody else, let alone the guys.

Now I said before that West wasn't completely keen on girls. That of course is an overstatement, he had, and there is no casual way to say this in writing, sexual desires. They simply didn't come before adventure and his dream. Nothing came before those. But Fend was cute, no denying that and anyone that saw her would agree on that. Except Reed, he'd have no opinion. I think that he needs to read a book on human communication. Well, I've made my point about Fend, changing would wait until later. One good thing came of the embarrassment though.

Everyone had completely forgotten about the stench of the room.

Then again, from the beginning, Ruby was too busy checking and double checking, and triple checking their supplies. She had to be sure that they had everything they could possibly need, and if she didn't she was going to ask the head Medic back at the hospital. The difference between her and the indifference that some of her guild-mates were exhibiting was that she wasn't too distracted by the her job to notice the bad living conditions. It wasn't until Fend's fall that it was all forgotten.

But a problem that big is hard to forget. The room was still there, in all its "glory." When the time came, everyone had their own problems sleeping in the dinghy room.

West's problem was the... well... the everything. The drops plopping onto his head now and again. The smell, what with the "event's" passing, had returned to his conscious mind. The squelchy sound of the wet mattress as he tossed and turned trying to find a nice soft spot that he would never find, didn't help either. For West, sleep seemed as distant as the bottom of the labyrinth.

The lady protectors ails were about the same, but I suspect that the moment of the crash kept revolving in her head, probably convoluting itself into something much bigger than it actually was. The mind does that. I think Ruby said she could hear her crying over the pitter patter of the rain outside.

Speaking of Ruby, she already had problems sleeping. It wasn't that where she used to live was uncomfortable, but she was usually worrying about something, running things over and over in her mind until she was sure that she had everything down. Today was even worse, after all she was going to be, let me stress again, the most important member of the team. She had lives riding on her. That did help her sleep on the already cold, uncomfortable bed.

Reed was worried that the book he was reading would get wet.

Raze slept so I guess she's exempt from the group.

The next day, when everyone "got up" no one was rested. Still, the day wouldn't wait for them, the sun was out and the rain had passed and the only reminder of it was their wet clothes, beds, and muddy floor. Okay, so it was kind of obvious.

The first thing that the girls did was kick the guys out. West hadn't planned ahead enough to bring a change of clothes, so it didn't matter anyway. Reed's house wasn't too far so he left to fetch a new outfit, leaving West alone with the desk manager.

Now I swear, this guy is like a robot. He never answers any questions, and he only ever seems to say one thing, "Welcome to the Rooster Inn!" in the same cheerful tone. When you pay, he takes it silently, and files it into the desk in a practiced fashion. The way he acts is almost creepy. He always bows too. There are a lot of stories about him, but personally I just think he's weird.

Also, it seems he's the one that makes sure you don't come back. When you're sleeping, if you haven't paid up, or paid the correct amount, they say the guilds are never seen again. I think it has something to do with the food, the desk manager's mother prepares it, she's the cook of the house. Anyway, they don't poison anyone, but I think they-I lied it's poison. Just did a bit of snooping. Note to self, don't piss off the innkeeper.

So West is alone with this guy. He claims these moments to be some of the most awkward of his life. He just sort of... stood there. The desk manager that is. He stood there, staring at the door. West went up and poked him with his sword out of curiosity, but the boy didn't even react. West cringed after this and sat at the bench saying nothing, staring intently at the motionless man.

It seemed like an eternity until Fend, now fully swathed in armor, opened the door and gently said, "You can come in now." What wondrous timing, Reed had returned as well. It was time to make the plan for the day.

Now, as this is my journal, and I can make it at my own pace as this is still the past, I feel no obligation to go further. I'm tired. I don't even know why I'm stating this, but I guess I should, maybe I'll make it a trademark... Entry 2, out.


	3. Entry 3

Entry 3

It's been a while since I last wrote. Let me check where we left off.

Okay, got it, on with that daily plan.

So, it was time for the group to meet as a guild for the first time, to discuss guildly things. In this case, the matter of approaching the Labyrinth trial. Now, I won't say much, but the guilds all have to complete a mission from the Radha (that's the government if you remember) before you can become a "legit guild".

For some reason, buying a slot in the HQ isn't enough to appease the govena'. They won't accept you as a true guild until you complete their tedius task. Now honestly, I'm kidding, you get paid as a guild by the Radha for completing the mission and it helps you grow. But it may help to note that the guilds never talk about the mission to the newer guilds, or in my case, to you. Yet. As a result, West and company have no idea what they're in for, so they want to be ready for anything. Well...

"Alright, so say we break into two groups," began West, "one to get equipment and supplies, or at least familiarize themselves with the stores, and the other to accept the mission. Is this a good plan?" No one argued. Not because this plan was the perfect plan; it's just no one had another plan. Not the best, but it was a plan. Everyone looked at one another and then they chatted and made groups. Ruby and Fend went to check out the stores while West, Reed, and Raze went about accepting the quest.

The store sector had little luck. They wandered the bizarre bazaar that is the marketplace of Etria and though Ruby saw some curios that she thought would be useful, Fend reminded her that magic good luck charms were rarely worth the ental they would spend. It was weird how little good equipment was on the market then, a rather unfortunate time for the Gales to start, 995 ental would get you a nice, shiny sword. Were it not for this, they would have probably never run into Shilleka's little store.

Now there was an amazing girl. Shilleka had inherited the store from her grandfather who had also served the needs of adventurers. The girl was hardworking and not only ran the store, but made the weapons and armor, as well as experimented with new materials. Just a little problem. She wasn't getting any new materials.

When her father passed away, there was no one to collect stuff. That had always been her father's job, to collect the materials while her grandfather and her worked on new merchandise and traded off the job of running the store. Both were gone now though, her grandfather of old age and father of an unfortunate accident in the labyrinth, quite common really. She was alone.

I'm amazed she chose to keep running store. She was mainly getting by by selling warp wires now. Oh yes, those are charms that are actually good. Warp wires have little useful hexes on them called Return. I hear rather skilled alchemists can use it, meaning Reed probably knows it but refuses to use it. In the labyrinth, it is a must have. You see, the spell is the keyed in to Etria's signal and takes you back without having to fight all the way through the labyrinth. Little things like, warp wires, are so commonplace, many adventurers have knocked on death's door due to simply forgetting to get more. You just begin to assume you have them 'til it's too late.

But I digress, Shilleka's store is in the gutter when Fend and Ruby walk in. "'ello and welcome to Shilleka's Goods, can I 'elp ya?" Said a cheerful voice. Shilleka, the dark skinned beauty she is, covered in light clothes due to the heat of the furnace, with her dark hair bouncing after her has she ran to the counter, looked happily at the new customers. Then frowned. New customers.

Now you may think it unusual that she did this, they only meant well, they were going to buy from her store and make her the money that she desperately needed, right? In fact, newbies are honestly who she sold most to. But there was one little problem. They were very lowest of the low, meaning they (as Shilleka reasoned) hadn't completed the opening task. As a result, she wasn't allowed to sell to them. So she wasn't angry at the new guild, but the Radha. Typical.

"''ahm sorry, gals, I'm naught aloud to sell ta yah 'thout a vouchah. Sorry." Shilleka didn't get many customers, so she was as disappointed as the girls. "But tell ya what, you come back hea when you've beaten tha silly task and I'll give ya the best deals this side of Etria." She grinned a reliable grin, making Ruby smile with her. Fend looked at her seriously then grinned a bit too and replied.

"We'll be back, you can count on it." And she turned and walked out the door without looking back, head held high. Ruby bowed to Shilleka in respect then dashed to catch up with Fend. There was one good thing about this though. Fend still have 995 ental. They headed back to the Inn to meet the other group.

Meanwhile, the questing group was being a bit more productive. They had left the Inn straight for the Radha building with a goal in mind, get in, get the goal, get out, meet the group at the Inn. Simple. Maybe the plan was a bit more thought out than I thought. I need to give West more credit-he actually used his brain!

When they got there, save for Reed, the grandeur of the large building was breathtaking. Both West and Raze had never seen the building in all its splendor. Outside the door were beasts of some kind, carved from marble, standing menacingly outside the hall as if protecting it. Large pillars of the same high quality marble as the beasts were used in holding the structure up, all were gilded with gold and had intricate, artistic carvings up and down, each, they could tell, told a story of the past. And the building itself towered over the largest structures in Etria. It was at least two times taller and much larger. All in all, it was pretty awe inspiring.

Finally, Reed noticed that the other two had stopped moving and had started to march up inside without the others. They soon followed only to be shocked that the inside of the building was even more decadent. Lined on all the walls were gigantic portraits of people, probably past Radha leaders and famous adventurers. There were paintings of the labyrinth as well as typical pictures of the sky. The whole building itself seemed to be made of marble and gold. The building must of cost a fortune.

When they finally walked the long hallway to reach the desk, they were met by a gaunt looking bespectacled young man. He looked busy, scribbling away at his desk, occasionally dipping his quill pen back in the ink. This man was the secretary for the Radha, and usually he handled all affairs pertaining to government-like business. The mayor was always too busy.

Gods above, the mayor. That old fart is the fossil of Etria, he's been here since our grandfathers and their grandfathers... or maybe he had a wife, and just lived here in the Radha building, and his ancestor ran the place. In my humble opinion, I think his existence more of a myth than truth, and the secretary really ran everything. He certainly worked hard enough. The lack of sleep as well as a shower showed. Well, at least he was in good company, the members of Gale smelled rank.

When he saw them approach, he got up, and looked them over with tired, but honest and caring eyes and smiled. "Welcome to Radha Hall, home of Etria's governing body." That's one way of putting it, I suppose. He looked them over again, almost as if calculating his next words. "I assume, newcomers, that you are en route to explore the forest," If the armor wasn't a dead giveaway... "However, we don't recognize just anyone who manages to throw a guild together." He said the last part innocently, but to West, that was like trampling on his pride.

His group wasn't just a ragtag group he had "thrown together". In my opinion, it was. But to him, it was a sock in the face. But not even West-no, not even Raze would talk back to the Radha without a good reason. An insult wasn't good enough.

The man continued after a pause, seeing that West's eye's narrowed, homing in on him. Ah yes, one more thing, that man seems to see every detail, despite his lack of sleep. It felt like he was scanning you, paying attention to your every movement. He was probably great at cards. If he ever got out. "If you wish to become licensed adventurers, then complete the mission we give you." This was it, the moment of truth.

"Your mission is to create a map of the first floor of the Labyrinth. Think of it as an initiation." There were at least twenty thousand maps of the first floor. He was asking the group to basically go into any store in Etria and buy a map. But wait, there's more. "Those who cannot complete such an elementary task are better off staying out of the labyrinth. Explore the first floor and map everything you see there, here is a small map to start you off; fill in the rest of the details as best you can." And now it comes clear.

You definitely have to map it yourself. There was even a little number in the upper right-hand corner of the paper. Probably a failsafe for those who try to cheat. Raze seemed to chuckle. "That's it?" She asked, emphasizing both words, putting emphasis on both words, it sounded awkward, but it got the point across. It seemed so simple. In fact it was, but it forced you to look for every nook and cranny in first floor. It is a very clever trick, in my opinion.

"That's it." He replied, then continued, "Also, you may want to consult the soldier stationed on the first floor. He can give you some mapmaking tools. We seem to be dreadfully short on them here, I wish you the best of luck." The man sat back down and with a calm smile, at the group, dutifully turned back to his work.

With nothing left to chat about the group headed back to the group, however Reed broke off from the group, telling them in one of the few occasions that he spoke, that he would meet them at the Labyrinth. The two groups minus Reed met back up at the Rooster Inn, to converse and the four of them grabbed their gear and headed off for the Labyrinth.

Well that's all for now. I'll go into the details of the mission next time. Entry 3, out.


End file.
